Sundried Tomato Risotto

This wonderful recipe came from Pioneer Woman, which means it was, of course, delicious! I just happened to have all the ingredients for this and had a craving for warm, homey food earlier this week. This hit the spot perfectly!

It took me 3 tries, no lie, to get a non-shaky shot of the ingredients! I never realized how hard it could be to get a stable picture of non-moving objects!

I am terrible at chopping onions. I'm very sorry Ree, you have explained over and over how to do this and yet I still fail miserably!

Regardless, onions and garlic combined is God's greatest gift to humanity.

These sundried tomatoes were a beast to cut. I definitely wished I had a food processor!

This pot has been the most amazing purchase my mom has ever made on my behalf!

Mmm onions and garlic in butter! It does get better!

Adding the wine

Arborio rice is beautiful! It's so pearly and tiny!

I made a small boo-boo and added the wine to the onions before the rice, but it turned out alright in the end :)

The tomatoes turned much brighter throughout the cooking process

All mixed together

Adding the broth a little at a time is a long process, but so worth it! It turns out soooo creamy, without any dairy products at all!

Adding Parmesan. Yes, it's the bottled stuff, because I lack the budget for the good stuff. Forgive me, culinary gods, for I have sinned.

I did add some 2% milk rather than heavy cream, because that was what I had on hand, and that's what Pioneer Woman said to do.

Heaven in a bowl. Yum!

Sundried Tomato Risotto

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons EVOO

1/2 whole large yellow onion, diced

3 whole cloves garlic, minced

2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

7-9 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and minced

1 cup dry white wine (optional, I opted.)

7 cups low sodium chicken broth

salt and pepper as needed

1 cup Parmesan

1/4 cups heavy whipping cream (or, in my case, 2% milk)

1. Heat broth in a saucepan or in the microwave and set aside

2. Heat butter and EVOO in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes.

3. Add dry rice, stirring to coat and cooking for 3 more minutes. Add wine, stir and cook over medium-low heat until most of liquid is absorbed. Add sundried tomatoes and stir.

4. Begin adding broth, one cup at a time, stirring until the liquid is absorbed, then adding the next cup. Repeat until rice is done. Rice should have a slight bite, but not be crunchy. I used about 6 cups of broth total.

5. Remove from heat, then stir in Parmesan and heavy cream. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

5 Ingredient Dessert: It Does Exist!

I made this dessert on Sunday after dinner at our friends David and Meredith's house. I had been wanting to try the recipe for a while, because I had a sneaking suspicion it would be incredibly delicious. I was so, so right. :)

I got this recipe from Noble Pig, and for that, I am eternally grateful!

For some reason (probably because it's pie's off-season) I couldn't find the 15 oz can of pumpkin the recipe calls for. I bought the 29 oz can and measured. C'est la vie!

There is seriously nothing better than boxed cake mix. I don't care what anyone says, it is the best invention ever, and most people either don't notice or don't care. Yum.

The batter was really thick at first, but eventually got some air in it. I did not get a shot of the pumpkin in the bowl pre-mix, because I was too busy dealing with the huge mess I made.

I had to use a round flan pan, but it turned out really well and I didn't have to adjust the baking time at all! Also, it looked really pretty :)

Mmm powdered sugar!

Tried to get some action shots here... that doesn't work so well on a Blackberry, FYI.

I need to get batteries for my real camera.

Mmm glaze! Deliciousness! I did wind up adding a bit more cider to make it extra yummy.

Fresh out of the oven!

The cake was amazingly moist. The pumpkin took care of that aspect perfectly!

Meredith should have been a hand model!

The finished product

This was melt in your mouth, delectable goodness.

This recipe has been Mike (and David, and Meredith) approved!

Here's the how-to:

Pumpkin Cake with Apple Cider Glaze

1 box yellow cake mix

1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons apple cider

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1. Mix cake mix and pumpkin in bowl. Batter will be very thick.

2. Pout batter into greased 7x11 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 28 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

3. Make the glaze while the cake is baking: Mix powdered sugar, cider and pumpkin pie spice. Glaze should also be thick, but pourable. Add more sugar or cider if needed.

4. When cake is done, cool 5-10 minutes, then flip onto plate. Pour glaze on while still warm.

I would highly recommend this for anyone, even non-bakers (like my mother!)